The ringleader of the four-man homegrown terror cell accused of a plotting to blow up synagogues in the Bronx and military planes in Newburgh admitted to a judge today that he had smoked pot before his bust last night.

When U.S. Magistrate Judge Lisa M. Smith asked James Cromatie (sic) if his judgment was impaired during his appearance in federal court in White Plains, the 55-year confessed: "No. I smoke it regularly...I understand everything you are saying."

Sources tell TPMmuckraker that it is indeed possible to understand straightforward questions after having smoked pot. Still, having a stoner for a ringleader doesn't exactly go along with the image of a dangerous, well-coordinated terrorist ring that the FBI and NYPD have tried to present.

After all, Muhammad Atta may have been unable to resist a few drinks and a trip to a Floida strip club just before 9/11, but, after years of intense planning, it's hard to imagine him showing up stoned on the big day.

Frankly, the more we learn about this "plot", the more sketchy and pathetic it seems.